Your iPad Mini and Chinese Factory Workers

7/29/2013 5:57AM

China Labor Watch alleges a number of breaches at China-based factories owned by Apple contractor Pegatron. The WSJ's Yun-Hee Kim and Paul Mozur talk about the safety and environmental laws the company is accused of violating.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... the the ... I knew what from a Chinese labor group alleges leave the violations and a second Apple contractor ... welcome to Asia today and unique in ... joining me to discuss the story is policy or ... reporter and the James ... Hall you've had a very busy day it on the school report to surf this ... house when China Labor watch had to say about the labor conditions at ... his Apple supplier called Pegatron ... I will there's a there's a whole range of things they run through ... it starts with very very common Fiji your free credit dorms long ships long hours up ... workers are hard to stand throughout their shifts but the more serious abuses were during the day that ... the switch to Labor watch says is that ... our workers are not are not necessarily being a bit I mean full in particular workers to work for a short time at the factories ... on that another abuse that Apple actually aam said he did the aam find out happened and help the salt ... I was that workers identifications were actually seeking for short period of time when they recruited ... a new slate of industry to encourage them to stay longer at a factory were dishes were particularly harsh ... either also accusations that on the use of the Puerto toxic cutting fluid intake into drains which is you need illegal detentions environmental also Apple's up policy ... and finally there were some pretty un safe conditions that ... after the ad would supply either one of the ... lines that makes the back of the I pad ... out when it was being cut winner would use to cut back the I pad or see shards that come off of aluminum ... and that workers are not given us the proper equipments that when they cleaned their time ... that machine ... I think of themselves ... I the goodness in the next first aid or other things in several parties of the keep themselves up with industrial eighth inning continue working through the whole range of things here and a lot of them are problems both agreed Apple's supplier dream and also for the Chinese legal ... now these are pretty serious allegations palm ... and youth independently verify with some of these workers when we'll have to say about the actual working conditions at some of these factories ... well you know one of the things going on here is is working conditions in the electronics supply chain in China are almost universally harsh ... I've that you know abuses are pretty pretty frequent about ... the blood of the stains on well maybe not totally one of the mill are not that extraordinary that the inch thinking is that Apple has set a very high bar ... for itself so I'm you know in terms of ... having seen these violations come from Apple's new second United squad is getting orders from Apple ... I that that is BBDO and in workers obviously you talk about it a lot of them felt you ... defrauded when they were basically brought in by recruiting companies and only after they tried to leave the factory after a month or something with the find out that the recruiting company that brought them in and hire them for the factory was going to dock their pay because they left on you know too quickly ... aam other workers in Aceh and one factory just couldn't even last aam the average turnover it's one factor is that you know in a move intended fifteen gains and worker said the ships were long I've machines were allowed toxic chemicals around ... I they were just so exhausted that night you know basically they came ... and left unsupported thinking they you know one day just let it be in the one Schiff ... said Tuesday our outside the conditions are some of these places ... I ... am Paul tell Sullivan more about this company known as Pegatron when we think about the Apple suppliers many people just talk about Foxconn ... but this company actually make some big products for Apple so ... in the sky D tells on I'll what Pegatron is all about ... here sitting in China I it's it's long been a contract manufacturer of electronics night use to be owned by Asustek um that it was spun off from from the seasick as the computer maker in Taiwan ... in two thousand tenants is that it's been ramping up orders for a number of international companies ... on the over the past year to two years we've really been getting a lot of Apple workers they have on orders for the day for several versions of the I phone ... I knew that a lot of orders for the I pad Meanie and the Nelson now I have orders for the cheaper I phone than Apple's working on ... onthe it what's going on there issues that they iam baby basically what Apple is done is to try to diversify their supply chain after they were problems in production the I phone five ... and Foxconn plan slashed are the same time ... it earns able to make some nice things um a bit cheaper when taking bigger hit on the margin ... than Foxconn is so as result I it's it's it the fact that the appellant's Apple switched over ... to the prom is when this happens on Foxconn's a lot of work that with the ... SLA in with other labor groups on the new over over again and teach Media wares Pegatron is relatively obscure soon due diligence on the down ... to the plant you see some of the violations the EU are seen at Foxconn e year two years ago ... and call can you tell us what Apple Apple has reaction has been to this report and also what Pegatron had to say about the report today ... well most Dumbo thing attorney and a subsidiary that operates two of its companies are saying there can investigate the city question some of the accusations ... aam but if they find out for instance that died in recruiting companies are taking worker pay that they will ... break off their relationship with those companies aam ... Apple itself said it would withstood an uncharacteristically long statement describing that ALM that that that in fact the forty four workers did have their EP seeking for a short time ... and that they put an end to that that the special investigation into two on the two plants were abuses where ... are the worst and there all system of giving in general why did ... he said the body the Pegatron quite a bit and it passed on to the towers were as high as of the report claims ... and so the other abuses slate workers are getting paid also ... didn't come up but out within the report the talk about the factories and gaming the system ... to ensure that workers sign false cards that show that honored their hours on its long ... and out workers with you know ... the need to kind of say that conditions are as bad as they really are ... aam certainly some of the Allied workers we talk you about this report ... as a means to be seen how Apple will alter the respond down one to this ... ok and very interesting story that will be following very closely thanks very much Paul Mozur joining us today from the chain ... for more on that story indebted Des beest dot com I'm unique in for the last two channel digital network thanks for watching